About

The plan for the day

This morning’s main activity is to turn the Colossal Squid over. We did think we may not be able to turn it without damaging it. But it seems to have turned over easier than we thought.

This is the first time the guys have seen this side of the squid. And it seems there is a bit more damage – gaff marks from when they were getting it onto the ship. It looks like Steve and the other scientists will have to do some cosmetic surgery.

The red stuff you can see is the the skin, with a gelatinous tissue underneath. Much of the skin was damaged when it was brought up onto the boat.

At around 10 am we will be removing the lid from the rest of the tank and begin manouvering the squid into the lifting cradle. We’re not sure how long this will take. During this time Steve will also be sewing up the rips in the mantle.

If all goes well we will lift the specimen into the new tank around 2pm this afternoon.